Interview: Little Image talk touring internationally, new music, and music videos before New Haven gig
This past Wednesday, alternative-indie band, little image, opened for Joywave in New Haven Connecticut, for their first stop on the Here to Perform tour. The Dallas-based group, consisting of lead singer, Jack Simmons, drummer, Troy Bruner, and guitarist, Brandon Walters, sat down with us before the show to talk about their recent experience touring overseas and their new and upcoming project.
FIRST TIME ABROAD
For the month of March, little image was the supporting act for indie-pop trio, almost monday on the EU and UK leg of their DIVE tour, stopping in countries like Spain, Germany, France, and more.
Did you ever think you would be where you are today as musicians/little image?
The guys agreed that they never really saw themselves anywhere specific. “Jack and I, when we started little image, it was always playing in little clubs was it, it was the dream…that was really all we aspired to be” says Walters. Bruner mentioned that “every day is like one day at a time” and they are happy to be riding this wave as they continue to grow and release new music.
What was your experience like performing internationally for the first time?
Simmons said that playing in other countries, where English is not the first language, was what stuck out most to him. “Music, to me, is such a universal language” he adds and emphasized that the crowds in Europe were very appreciative. When asked if they felt like more people knew their music than they anticipated, Bruner shared a story about a “sweet moment” where a fan in Amsterdam mentioned knowing their first album, Musings, from 2017, which took the band by surprise. They ended up giving her a copy of the CD, which is hard to come by nowadays. As the tour progressed, more people in the crowds began to know their music and sing along.
Walters shared that the tour was actually he and Simmons’ first time in Europe. They were amazed at the varying culture in “such a short mileage”, emphasizing how their home state of Texas is so large and in all that distance not much changes, but in Europe, they could drive a few hours and be somewhere completely different. “It was really cool, everyday, to sort of figure out the bearings,” says Walters. Their favorite stop on the tour was Prague, Czech Republic, as it was the only time they had an entire day to explore based on their schedule. Bruner described the city as “Harry Potter”. Overall the three expressed how grateful they were for the opportunity to travel while playing their music and introducing it to people across the world.
NEW MUSIC: THE PROCESS AND IDEAS BEHIND THEIR NEWEST RELEASES
You recently released your newest songs, “THE PRESSURE” and “RUN FOR FOREVER”, which are now two of the top songs on your popular songs list on Spotify. Can you tell us a little bit about the writing process for these tracks and where their inspiration came from?
Simmons mentioned that “RUN FOR FOREVER” is really special to the band because it was the first song they wrote together after their album, SELF TITLED. It was the first time they got to sit down in a room together and start working on the ideas they had been culminating. Bruner said it took them only a few hours to complete the entire song from start to finish. When asked if they second guessed themselves at all with the song being produced so quickly, the guys talked about how it just felt right, being three friends that make music and can just put it all out there without thinking too much into things. “It definitely drove the rest of the week…like wow, we can do this, we can just knock out songs” says Simmons.
You worked with digital artist, Maxime Gerarin, to create the music video for “RUN FOR FOREVER”. It appears to have a recurring theme and images from “THE PRESSURE” including the rabbit, Mr. Cynical, and even clips from “THE PRESSURE” playing on the computer screens on the desk in the meadow. What meanings, if any, do these symbols have?
The Rabbit:
The three couldn’t give us specific details about the rabbit, explaining that the meaning will come out as time goes on and more of their music is released. “Overarching, right now for us, it is just a symbol of a light, lighting the path for us” says Bruner. He mentioned that they wrote a song called “THE RABBIT” originally intended for their current project that will come out eventually and help fans understand the image and its purpose.
Mr. Cynical:
“It will all make sense” they reassured. Walters shared “…the best way to say it is, these characters represent felt feelings and emotions that I think everyone has and we wanted to personify that a little bit”. Bruner added that these characters are versions of themselves; “when Jack’s looking at Mr. Cynical, he’s kind of staring at himself… a version that he maybe doesn’t want to be”. We can confirm that there will be more characters like Mr.Cynical coming!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Rest assured, an album is coming! Earlier in the interview, Bruner mentioned that as a band, they like to focus on making their music part of a conducive theme. “We’ll do singles, we love singles, but it’s all a part of something” he says.
When asked, the guys did say that “STRANGE FRIENDS” was one of those “one-off” songs that is not part of their last album or the upcoming one, but they still love it and have a lot of fun filming it. Simmons said that it was a great opportunity to give older actors from their local community a gig because it is often harder for them to find something. Bruner emphasized that the actors and actresses showed a lot of gratitude to he and his bandmates for bringing them on for the project.
What are you most excited for this year and in your future journey as a band?
“I don’t know if we’ve ever been more proud of something,” says Simmons. He feels like this is their best shot to really get their music out there and to grow. “We’ve always had a great show…we always put a lot of effort into it…but didn’t necessarily have all the music ready to go, so now we have both and it’s about executing that with the show” says Bruner.
Walters added that taking a step back and looking at the growth they have made in their music and as a band has been really cool. “I think this is the most self-expressive music that we will have put out and we are all giddy about it” he says.
The trio is proud and very excited to share the rest of the project with their fans. They are planning another headline tour in the near future, hopefully this year. “When the album comes out, we can’t just not play it,” says Bruner.
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for the release of their next track “NOVOCAINE” or grab a ticket to see them as they continue with Joywave across the US this month and next. Additionally, you can see them opening for Bad Suns at the end of May leading into June for their Summer 2025 mini tour.
